Greece Tax & Finance — Europe Unlocked

The key numbers · 2026

Tax residency trigger: 183+ days in Greece in a tax year
Income tax: 9% to 44% across 6 brackets — most mid-bracket rates cut 2 points from January 2026
Foreign pensioners (Article 5B): 7% flat on all foreign income for 15 years — apply by March 31
Non-dom option (Article 5A): €100,000/year flat on foreign income, 15 years, requires a €500,000 investment
Relocating workers (Article 5C): 50% income-tax exemption on Greek employment income, 7 years
VAT: 24% standard · 13% food, hotels, medicines · 6% books, electricity

2026 income tax brackets

Greek tax residents pay progressive rates on worldwide income. Law 5246/2025 rewrote the scale from 1 January 2026 — mid-bracket rates fell about 2 points, and a new 39% band appeared at €40,000–60,000:

Taxable income	Rate
Up to €10,000	9%
€10,000 – €20,000	20%
€20,000 – €30,000	26%
€30,000 – €40,000	34%
€40,000 – €60,000	39%
Above €60,000	44%

The 2026 reform also zero-rated under-25s up to €20,000 and cut rates for families with children in the €10,000–20,000 band. Rental income has its own scale: 15% to €12,000, then a new 25% band to €35,000 (down from 35%), with the top band above that.

The 7% regime is the headline. Read it properly.

Greece actively courts foreign pensioners. Under Article 5B, qualifying retirees who move their tax residence to Greece pay a flat 7% on all foreign-source income — pension, Social Security, dividends, interest, rents, capital gains — for 15 tax years. No restriction on where in Greece you live (Italy's rival 7% regime confines you to small southern towns; Greece's does not). The catch: you must apply to AADE by March 31 of the tax year, and you must genuinely live here. Read the full guide →

What Americans and Canadians still owe back home

	United States	Canada
Keep filing?	Yes — the US taxes citizens on worldwide income wherever they live. Foreign tax credits and the FEIE offset most of it, but a 7% Greek rate leaves a US top-up for many. Model it before you elect.	Generally no, once you cease Canadian tax residency — but watch departure tax on deemed disposition of assets when you emigrate.
Treaty	US–Greece income tax treaty in force since 1953 (signed 1950) — one of the oldest US treaties still running, with gaps a modern treaty would cover. Get advice.	Canada–Greece Tax Convention in force since 2010 — governs pensions, withholding, and tie-breaker residency.
Accounts reporting	FBAR if foreign accounts exceed $10,000 aggregate; FATCA Form 8938 thresholds apply. A Greek bank account counts.	Standard CRA rules until departure; deemed-disposition forms (T1161/T1243) on exit.
Social security	US–Greece totalization agreement since 1 September 1994 — no double contributions; credits combine.	Canada–Greece social security agreement since 1983, revised 1997 — covers OAS and CPP, which remain payable in Greece.

Pensions, IRAs, 401(k)s, Roths: how Greece characterises US retirement-account withdrawals under the 1950-vintage treaty is exactly the kind of question the treaty doesn't answer cleanly. This is the one topic where paying a cross-border professional before you trigger Greek residency is unambiguously worth it.

The practical checklist

AFM (tax number): free, via AADE / myAADE. You need it before almost anything else — property, bank account, utilities, a car. Get it first.
Article 5B application: to AADE's Tax Office for Residents Abroad & Alternative Taxation, by March 31 of the tax year. Decision within 60 days.
Property taxes if you buy: 3.09% transfer tax on resales, plus annual ENFIA (roughly €2–16.20/m² by zone, with surcharges on holdings above €400,000). Details in the Housing hub.
7% tax payment: if you're in the regime, the year's tax is due in one instalment by the last working day of July — no credits or offsets against it.

In this section

Guides

★ New

The 7% flat tax for foreign pensioners

All foreign income at 7% for 15 years — who qualifies, the March 31 deadline, and the US filing catch.

Read the guide →

Coming soon

How Greece taxes your US retirement income

Social Security, IRAs, 401(k)s, and Roths under a 1950 treaty — what's settled, what's grey.

Coming soon

Getting your AFM, step by step

The myAADE route, the in-person route, and why the AFM comes before everything else.

Sources

2026 brackets and rental bands (Law 5246/2025, from 1 Jan 2026): Ministry of Economy & Finance — minfin.gov.gr; corroborated by KPMG Greece tax updates (Nov 2025)
Articles 5A, 5B, 5C: AADE — Tax Incentives to attract New Tax Residents and the AADE "Tax Incentives (articles 5A, 5B, 5C of the ITC)" guidance PDF
7% regime rate and 15-year duration corroboration: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Greece
US side: US–Greece income tax treaty (signed 1950, in force 1953) — IRS treaty documents; FBAR; SSA totalization agreement (1 Sep 1994)
Canada side: Canada–Greece Tax Convention (in force 2010); Canada.ca social security agreement
VAT rates and AFM: AADE — aade.gr

This page is general information, not tax advice. Cross-border taxation is personal — engage a professional licensed on both sides before acting.

The tax math,before you move.